Every time that chorus rolls around on my old record player I get this goofy grin — the song people usually think of as Joan Baez's staple actually began as a Bob Dylan tune. He wrote the original lyrics to 'It Ain't Me, Babe' and recorded it for his 1964 album 'Another Side of Bob Dylan'. The words are classic Dylan: terse, a little cutting, romantic in denial. He penned the lines and owned the songwriting credit.
Dylan's version has that dry, conversational delivery that makes the lyrics feel like a personal conversation. Joan Baez later covered it and her more lilting, soaring take helped the song reach a wider audience; her voice reshaped the feeling while keeping Dylan's words intact. Over the years plenty of other artists have given it their flavor, but the origin — the lyricist who wrote the lines about refusing to be someone's savior — is Bob Dylan.
I still like to imagine how different the song sounds depending on who sings it; Dylan's original lyrics feel like a note left at a doorway, and that tiny sting is why it sticks with me.